Thursday, March 23, 2017 | 11:59 a.m.
A bill allowing police to pull drivers over for not wearing seat belts drew racial-profiling concerns as well as emotional testimony from the family of an 18-year-old who was unbuckled when she died in a 2010 collision.
Senate Bill 288 would add Nevada to a list of 34 other states with primary seat belt laws. Currently, a Nevada driver cannot be stopped solely for not wearing a seat belt.
The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration estimates that 12,000-13,000 lives are saved annually because of proper seat belt usage, bill sponsor Sen. David Parks, D-Las Vegas, said during a Transportation Committee hearing Thursday.
Data presented during the hearing showed certain minorities and men use seat belts less frequently. Officials with public defenders offices in Washoe and Clark counties were concerned that the bill did not contain any mitigation measures related to racial profiling, such as preventing the use of seat belt stops as probable cause to find other violations.
Parks said he’d be open to adding some type of mitigation measure to the bill. A similar bill failed to make it out of the committee in 2011.
Abigail LaVoie, 14, joined her parents in speaking on behalf of the Hillary LaVoie Effort, which the family started to promote safe teen driving. Her voice broke as she described the crash that killed her sister Hillary, and she said approving the bill would save lives.
Experts said seat belt compliance is less than 90 percent in Nevada and falling behind the rest of the country as fatalities rise. Medical costs resulting from vehicle collisions in which people did not wear seat belts are higher, they said, and the state picks up some of that tab for the uninsured and those on Medicaid.
Janine Hansen, president of Nevada Families for Freedom, spoke against the measure, and said her brother was killed in a 2002 collision while not wearing a seat belt.
She said he made a conscious decision because he didn’t want the government telling him what to do. Though she didn’t agree with that decision, she knew he’d want her there speaking against more government interference.
Sen. Donald G. Gustavson, R-Sparks, said a friend of his would not wear a seat belt because the government was telling him to.
“I myself personally have always worn seat belts,” he said. “I believe in seat belts very strongly, but I do not believe that it should be a mandatory law.”
Committee chairman Sen. Mark A. Manendo, D-Las Vegas, said it’s a difficult issue.
“I know the Lavoie family, and they’re good people,” he said.
Manendo said the committee would bring the bill up for a work session. No action was taken during the hearing.
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